2016 MLB Opening Day Expert Picks and Predictions

Drop everything. Opening Day is here! America’s pastime is back and better than ever with three big matchups Sunday. The day starts off with two of the National League’s best when the St. Louis Cardinals take on rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays figure to keep us all entertained throughout the late afternoon to bring us to the day’s spectacular finale.

Opening Day ends with a primetime matchup, a rematch of last year’s World Series. The New York Mets head over to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Ace Matt Harvey takes the mound after a disappointing run in last year’s Fall Classic. The Royals counter with their own ace, Edinson Volquez, who will give it his all as the Opening Day starter.

Catch all three Opening Day games with our complete previews for the Cards vs. Bucs, Jays vs. Rays and Mets vs. Royals.

MLB World Series News and Previews

Cleveland Indians vs. Minnesota Twins Preview –August 17, 2017

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays – August 17, 2017

Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers Betting Preview – August 17, 2017

2016 MLB Opening Day Experts Picks and Predictions

Covers

Game | Pick
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates | Cardinals
Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays | Rays
New York Mets at Kansas City Royals | Royals

Covers has us covered when it comes to the three MLB Opening Day games. The afternoon starts off with a big matchup between NL Central rivals, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals put their ace, Adam Wainwright, back on the mound after going down last April due to an Achilles injury. He’ll face off against Pittsburgh’s Francisco Liriano. Covers notes that the Cards have won the last two season series with the Pirates and have won 21 of their last 38 meetings. They have St. Louis besting their divisional rivals once again.

Much later into the afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays take on Toronto’s big bats. Chris Archer figures to silence Toronto’s bats after breaking the club record for a single season with 252 strikeouts last year. He has held the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to 10 for 69 with four homers in his career. The Rays should have what it takes to win their home opener with Archer on the mound, according to Covers.

A rematch of last year’s World Series is on the deck for primetime. Matt Harvey looks to lead his mets past defending champions, the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Harvey had a solid rebound in 2015, going 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA. He gave up five runs in 14 innings against Kansas City in two World Series starts without figuring in the decision. The Royals turn to Edinson Volquez, who is 2-5 with a 5.70 ERA in his career against the Mets.

Covers believes that the Mets get things done against the Royals this time around.

Sports Chat Place

Game | Pick
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates | Pirates
Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays | Rays
New York Mets at Kansas City Royals | Royals

Randy Chambers of Sports Chat Place is one of the first ones to look into Opening Day. He has all three home teams to get things done Sunday. He believes that New York seems to have an edge, but Kansas City just knows how to grind out games. The Royals will once again be contenders for the World Series. They’ll flash their championship form on Opening Day.

The Rays face their complete opposite in the big bats of Toronto. The Blue Jays will want to score a lot in this matchup, while Tampa Bay would be better served to eke out a low-scoring affair. Chambers believes that Chris Archer should be able to get his team past the Blue Jays. The Rays will showcase some improved pitching and defense as far as this expert is concerned.

Chambers believes that this game will be a toss-up between two of NL Central’s best. Pittsburgh figures to get better on defense with John Jasco taking over first from Pedro Alvarez while Josh Harrison takes over second for Neil Walker. Andrew McCutchen is one of the best outfielders in the game, which should help ramp up Pittsburgh’s defense. This collection of players should also get things done at the plate. St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright has looked off heading into this season. He has compiled a 4.80 ERA in 15 spring innings.

Picks and Parlays

Game | Pick
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates | Cardinals
Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays | Rays
New York Mets at Kansas City Royals | Mets

Picks and Parlays have already made their picks for Opening Day. First things first, they’re picking the Mets to get their sweet revenge over Kansas City on primetime. The Mets are putting their ace Matt Harvey on the mound. Harvey accrued a WHIP of 1.02 while keeping opponents to just a .222 team batting average. He should be able to keep Kansas City’s bats honest in this matchup.

Over at the NL East, the site is picking the Cardinals to get a big win over their divisional rivals. St. Louis ranked 12th in batting average last season and 24th in runs scored. They should be able to get the job done against Pittsburgh ace Francisco Liriano, who put up a home ERA of 4.44 last year.

Picks and Parlays is also pretty high on Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer. He went 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA in 37 plus innings against Toronto last year. While he could certainly get the win, like the site is picking, he’ll have to worry about Toronto’s spectacular offense. The Blue Jays finished first runs scored and second in batting average last season.

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